Since my
orbiter only carries seven people, an emergency mission to rescue a shuttle
crew, typically comprised of seven astronauts, would launch unmanned. This is
not difficult since the vehicles my orbiter derives from had automation built
into them from the beginning. The highly capable
guidance system, coupled with GPS and active radar, is more than capable of
conducting launch, rendezvous, and docking operations autonomously.
However,
the shape of the orbiter does not allow it to dock to the shuttle's airlock
since the orbiter cannot fit within the cargo bay of the shuttle. Thus, a
collapsible tunnel is necessary. This collapsible tunnel is best described as
the air vent material used for the exhaust of commercial clothes dryers,
although the material it would be comprised up would be substantially different,
being able to withstand the great temperatures swings, the vacuum of space, and
radiation.
This
tunnel cannot provide any structural support between the vehicles, making a
conventional hard dock impossible. However, the shuttle's docking module
requires a hard dock ring, and in turn a hard dock ring is coupled to the end of
the collapsible tunnel. This docking ring requires its own propulsion system,
which will be provided my small nitrogen-gas jets that are tied to the orbiter's
nitrogen supply via umbilical.
In the
event that the docking ring can not be hard mated automatically, a suited
astronaut from the shuttle can complete the docking. In the event that hard
docking can not be achieved at all, suited astronauts could transfer one at a
time between the airlocks. This is obviously the least desirable and most time
consuming method, but it is possible. Once the first astronaut transfers to the
orbiter, he or she can bring the additional two spacesuits stored in the orbiter
back to the shuttle to speed up the process.
The
collapsible tunnel is mounted directly on top of the
universal docking module, and in fact the hard docking ring is the same one
that would be used during traditional docking procedures. It has structural
support mounts that can be disengaged, allowing the rocking ring to free float
and be propelled by the nitrogen jets.
